Forgive me, Forget me, Fix Me
by Jamputt
Summary: Forgive me for my destruction. Forget me for my weakness. Fix me because I'm broken. Reiner and Bertholdt need Annie, mission complete or not. But its never that simple. (Reibert, manga spoilers, same universe.)


**((Author's Note: Uhm, ENJOY! I hope this will turn out as good as I imagine.))**

 _~Disclaimer: I do not own any of Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin, as it belongs to Hajime Isayama.~_

"Reiner!"

He ran frantically, his bloody hands grasping for cold fingertips. This wasn't supposed to happen. Reiner was invincible. Reiner would protect him. Reiner would live. He repeated this over and over in his head even as he screamed, finally managing to get a grip on Reiner's arm, the rest of his body over the edge of the walls.

Tears streamed down his face as he struggled, the weight of the heavily muscled man causing him to slip even lower. "Reiner, wake up!"

Nothing. Bertholdt could feel Eren's gaze on his back, his swords stained with Reiner's blood, his eyes unforgiving. Jean stood slightly behind him, panting with a deep gash in the side of his head. But his eyes held a mercy masked with pain. He went to take a step forward to give Bertholdt a hand before Eren pressed his blade against the taller man's chest, stopping him instantly.

Reiner slipped away even further, Bertholdt holding his arm with all of his strength, almost over the wall himself. " _Please, Reiner!_ " His voice was unrecognizable. A messy garble of sobs and fear.

It wasn't supposed to be this way at all. They weren't going to kill anyone anymore. It was finished. They were going to turn themselves in. But Eren had lost it, screamed and pushed, cursed and cried, and finally, he gone straight for Bertholdt's open neck.

Reiner, refusing to transform to show them they had changed, tried to fend Eren off with his bare hands, but there was no stopping him. This is what it had come to. Reiner's unconscious body dangling off the wall, Bertholdt clinging onto his sole remaining companion for dear life.

Bertholdt tried to life Reiner higher to bring him back to the top, but it was no use. He swivelled his head around to Eren and the others, barely seeing through his tears. "Please, please just help me."

Eren sneered, waving his other sword at him. "Why don't you just transform and run away?"

Bertholdt gasped as Reiner almost slide further. "No, you d-don't understand, Eren! If... if I transform here... on top of the wall..." He looked back at Eren for just a moment. "I'll crush this whole section."

Eren stared at Bertholdt for another moment before spitting at him. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just kill you where-"

Jean had already shoved passed Eren's blade, running to the edge and reaching down to help Bertholdt. His fingernails dug into Reiner's wrist and together they heaved, sliding the heavy body up on top of the wall. Bertholdt gasped with relief, all his muscles cramping instantly. He ignored it, desperately searching Reiner for a pulse while Eren glared at Jean as if he was a traitor himself.

"Why did you-" Eren was quickly cut off by Jean standing and silencing him with a surprisingly steady stare.

Jean looked back down on Reiner and Bertholdt. "Leave. Don't ever let me see your faces again. Never, ever come back. Within these walls isn't your home anymore. And it never will be again." His voice coming out in a firm tone, the same tone they'd all heard once before. When Marco was with them. Marco knew how to bring the leader out in Jean, but Jean hadn't taken charge since that fateful day.

Bertholdt wanted to cry again. That day. It was all his fault. _I'm so sorry._ Instead, he simply nodded and scrambled to his feet. Jean took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut. "Take off your 3D manoeuvre gear, Jean." It was Eren who spoke this time.

Jean tilted his head, undeniably confused. "Huh?"

"Just take it off, horse-face." Eren seemed calm now, but he still had a furious glint in his eyes. He began unstrapping his own gear. They both made quick work of removing their 3DMG and Eren grabbed Jean's from him, moving over to shove them into Bertholdt's arms. "Don't do my any favours, traitor. Just never come back."

Bertholdt nodded, feeling the guilt well up in his chest. The past 6 years had been like this. Every face he saw, he was reminded of a loved one _he'd_ had a hand in killing. He slide Eren's gear on quickly, managing to sling Reiner over his shoulder with a deep grunt. Holding onto Reiner with one arm, and Jean's 3DMG in his other hand, he moved to the edge of the wall. He looked back at the two young men one final time. _I'm sorry._

Then he was gone.

Bertholdt could barely breathe, gasping in ragged breaths. He wouldn't stop running. Not until he had done as Jean had asked. He would never go back. He felt tears prick his eyes again. / _Annie./_

He let out a small grunt, urging himself not to dwell on it. He had too many issues at hand, one of which was a heavy, unconscious blonde that had caused his shoulder to cramp and go numb at least an hour ago.

Bertholdt continued to run until he could barely take another step, collapsing to his knees as his legs spasmed from the effort. He kept himself upright long enough to lay Reiner down without further injuring him before he fell forward and the world went dark.

Reiner felt himself wake up before his eyes opened. His body felt like fire, but he knew it was just the familiar sting of his titan powers healing. He lay there, eyes still closed, the smell of his regrowing flesh filling his nostrils. It was comfortable. He would have been happy to never move again. _Annie._ The name slammed into his mind like a freight train, causing him to shoot up. "Annie!"

His body merely protested with aching joints, but he felt fine. He couldn't believe he had been asleep when he was supposed to be saving Annie. He scanned his surroundings in confusion. Where was he? He tried to recall the events leading up to the moments of intense pain and then darkness. The blonde ran a hand through his hair, his eyes moving to fall on Bertholdt's still form. "Shit, Bertholdt!"

Propelling himself forward, Reiner was beside Bertholdt in a moment's notice, the steam coming off the taller man's body making him hot to the touch. At least he was alive. Reiner relaxed visibly, turning Bertholdt onto his back. He let a gentle smile grace his firm features, wiping a smudge of dirt from his companion's cheek./ _Annie./_ Her name hit him again and his face turned cold. "Bertholdt, wake up."

Bertholdt heard his name called, it sounded distance and smothered, like someone was screaming through a blanket. He let his eyes drift open, licking his dry lips as he tried to focus on his surroundings. He sat up slowly and found his eyes held in the gaze of Reiner's. "Oh my god, Reiner, you're okay." He reached up to touch his face, but Reiner turned away.

"Get up. We've got to hurry to get Annie."

The cold words felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on his head. The taller man quickly stood on slightly unsteady feet. "Reiner..."

"Less talk, we have to go." Reiner was already strapping on Eren's 3DMG, making quick work of the tricky buckles and odd strips. Bertholdt took a step towards him, resting his hand on top of Reiner's to halt his efforts.

Bertholdt could feel Reiner already getting frustrated, but he still powered on. He hadn't just saved Reiner's life for nothing, he was going to listen to Jean. "We can't."

Reiner made an annoyed sound, hitting Bertholdt's hands off. "What is with you? Don't you want to help Annie? Stop being a coward!"

Bertholt felt his world stop. A coward. He swallowed back the anger that bubbled in his chest, instead gritting out a quiet, "We can't go back ever, Reiner."

The tall blonde snorted and grabbed the front of Bertholdt's tunic, fisting it in his shirt. "Shut up! We're going back, we're getting Annie, and we're-"

"Reiner!" Bertholdt felt the burn of tears in his eyes. He wasn't a coward. He'd stayed a warrior when no one else had. He'd given everything. Everyone. But he wouldn't give Reiner. "You were over the edge of the wall, I couldn't bring you back up, Jean helped me and he said he'd let us go so long as we never went back. We can't."

Reiner tightened his hold on Bertholdt's shirt, snarling so his teeth showed. "We're strong enough, I'm strong enough even if you aren't."

The taller man felt his eyes overflow, tears making thick tracks down his olive cheeks. "Annie is gone."

The blow wasn't unexpected, but it couldn't have been precisely anticipated either. Bertholdt's head jerked to the side abruptly, the crack of knuckles ringing out in the silence. He couldn't bring himself to turn his face back and look at Reiner, staring off to the side, leaning away with the blonde's hands still fisted in his shirt.


End file.
